The 1981 Irish Hunger Strike: An Account from Declassified British Documents

The hunger strike of 1981 is regarded as one of the most tragic events in Irish history. Ten men died over a period of 217 days in the H-Blocks of Long Kesh (Maze) prison while exercising the most extreme form of civil disobedience available to them. The Troubles that gave rise to the hunger strike had roots in the centuries of socio-economic subjugation and religious persecution in Ireland. In 1971, the British government began internment without trial for persons suspected of belonging to paramilitary organizations. Eventually, the British government granted Special Category Status to these prisoners before later stripping it from the prisons by 1976, leading to a five-year prisoner protest that culminated in the 1981 hunger strike.

This book critically examines declassified British government documents that detail how the government's policies led to the 1981 hunger strike, how Margaret Thatcher exacerbated the strike by refusing steps to end it, and how the hunger strike eventually led to peace in the north. Analysis also illustrates how the 1981 hunger strike, and the ten men who died on it, forced a revolutionary change in the political and governmental structure of the north and paved a road to peace that concluded with the signing of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

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The 1981 Irish Hunger Strike: An Account from Declassified British Documents

The hunger strike of 1981 is regarded as one of the most tragic events in Irish history. Ten men died over a period of 217 days in the H-Blocks of Long Kesh (Maze) prison while exercising the most extreme form of civil disobedience available to them. The Troubles that gave rise to the hunger strike had roots in the centuries of socio-economic subjugation and religious persecution in Ireland. In 1971, the British government began internment without trial for persons suspected of belonging to paramilitary organizations. Eventually, the British government granted Special Category Status to these prisoners before later stripping it from the prisons by 1976, leading to a five-year prisoner protest that culminated in the 1981 hunger strike.

This book critically examines declassified British government documents that detail how the government's policies led to the 1981 hunger strike, how Margaret Thatcher exacerbated the strike by refusing steps to end it, and how the hunger strike eventually led to peace in the north. Analysis also illustrates how the 1981 hunger strike, and the ten men who died on it, forced a revolutionary change in the political and governmental structure of the north and paved a road to peace that concluded with the signing of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

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The 1981 Irish Hunger Strike: An Account from Declassified British Documents

The 1981 Irish Hunger Strike: An Account from Declassified British Documents

by Michael C. Mentel
The 1981 Irish Hunger Strike: An Account from Declassified British Documents

The 1981 Irish Hunger Strike: An Account from Declassified British Documents

by Michael C. Mentel

eBook

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Overview

The hunger strike of 1981 is regarded as one of the most tragic events in Irish history. Ten men died over a period of 217 days in the H-Blocks of Long Kesh (Maze) prison while exercising the most extreme form of civil disobedience available to them. The Troubles that gave rise to the hunger strike had roots in the centuries of socio-economic subjugation and religious persecution in Ireland. In 1971, the British government began internment without trial for persons suspected of belonging to paramilitary organizations. Eventually, the British government granted Special Category Status to these prisoners before later stripping it from the prisons by 1976, leading to a five-year prisoner protest that culminated in the 1981 hunger strike.

This book critically examines declassified British government documents that detail how the government's policies led to the 1981 hunger strike, how Margaret Thatcher exacerbated the strike by refusing steps to end it, and how the hunger strike eventually led to peace in the north. Analysis also illustrates how the 1981 hunger strike, and the ten men who died on it, forced a revolutionary change in the political and governmental structure of the north and paved a road to peace that concluded with the signing of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781476651484
Publisher: McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date: 01/19/2024
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 249
File size: 4 MB
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

Michael C. Mentel is an appellate court judge in Ohio. His legal career includes the positions of chief legal officer of a large corporate engineering firm and partner in a nationally distinguished law firm. He is admitted to the bar in Ohio, the U.S. District Courts of Ohio, the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.
Michael C. Mentel is an appellate court judge in Ohio. His legal career includes the positions of chief legal officer of a large corporate engineering firm and partner in a nationally distinguished law firm. He is admitted to the bar in Ohio, the U.S. District Courts of Ohio, the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Preface
Introduction
One. What’s Past Is Prologue
Two. Internment, Special Category Status, and Criminalization
Three. The Blanket and Dirty Protests
Four. The Hunger Strike
Five. The Condemnation of Thatcher
Six. The Soon
Seven. A Serious Situation
Eight. Support Grows
Nine. The Hunger Strike Ends
Ten. The Political Change Begins
Eleven. ­­Anglo-Irish Relations and the Constitutional Question
Twelve. The Road to Peace
Chapter Notes
Bibilography
Index
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